There was a strict nature reserve inside the park area until 1961 when the reserve was unfortunately abolished1. The national park (158 km2) was established only in 2007. It adjoins Kintrishi Strict Nature Reserve (139 km2).

Annual precipitation exceeds 2500 mm, even reaching 4000 mm 2 on some uppermost slopes; thus, this is the wettest place in the Caucasus and also in the whole former Soviet Union1. Average annual temperature is 9–10°C at the park’s higher elevations discussed below2. The forests have often been called temperate rainforests. Compared with the temperate rainforests of the Pacific Coast of North America (see Olympic National Park) and the Southern Hemisphere (see Tarkine), the climate is somewhat more continental. The summer dry season, an important characteristic of the Pacific Coast of North America, is absent3. As a consequence of these climatic differences, the forest consists of deciduous broadleaf trees. The forests of northern Iran (see Alborz Mountains) and western Georgia have a number of common features3.

Elevation ranges from approx. 200 m to 1764 m. The slopes are steep. As in northern Iran, there was a glacial refugium in the lowlands of western Georgia and adjacent areas3, consequently many regional endemics can be found on the park’s lower slopes. However, the low-elevation forests are not in their natural state. At higher elevations individual trees have been felled before the park’s establishment4 but the forest nevertheless looks quite undisturbed with large and dead trees; however, here the diversity is rather low. For information about tree identification, see Borjomi Strict Nature Reserve. Fagus orientalis (oriental beech) dominates. The other abundant trees are Castanea sativa (sweet chestnut), Carpinus betulus (European hornbeam) and Alnus glutinosa subsp. barbata (black alder) 2. Here A. glutinosa is not restricted to riversides and wetlands but also grows on slopes and ridges. C. sativa was formerly widespread in Georgia’s forests but today it can only be found in mountains with limited accessibility5.

A remarkable difference to Europe’s Fagus sylvatica (European beech) forests (see Heilige Hallen Nature Reserve) is the undergrowth, which typically consists of a dense, mostly evergreen, vegetatively regenerating shrub layer. The most abundant species is Rhododendron ponticum (pontic rhododendron), other common species being Rhododendron ungernii, Prunus laurocerasus (cherry laurel), Ilex colchica and Vaccinium arctostaphylos (Caucasian whortleberry), of which only the last mentioned is deciduous. In the F. orientalis forests on the upper slopes, the shrub layer is often only about one metre tall but all the mentioned evergreen species can reach over 10 metres in favourable sites, V. arctostaphylos attaining about 5 m at most6. In places, forest floors resembling those of F. sylvaticaforest can also be found, e.g. with a low thorny Rubusshrub layer, or with almost non-existent undergrowth.The canopy is not particularly dense. Climbers are scarce on F. orientalis but more abundant on other trees. The upper slopes are shrouded by fog almost daily4.

The park has two hiking routes. The shorter one, through Juglans regia (Persian walnut) and other plantations, is mostly located outside the park and is not worth hiking for the forest (the trail ends at a waterfall). But the longer one (meant as a two-day trail but possible to hike in one long day) runs at higher elevations through gorgeous F. orientalis forests. Overnight stays are allowed in a camping place near the above-mentioned waterfall and in a shelter at the end of the longer trail at 1235 m elevation. The trails begin at Chakvistavi village, which can be reached by taxi from Chakvi (the 15 km trip along a very bad road takes 45 min).

References:

1Krever, V. et al. (eds.) 2001: Biodiversity of the Caucasus Ecoregion. An Analysis of Biodiversity and Current Threats and Initial Investment Portfolio. WWF.